Any initial message comprising alphanumeric characters can be encoded as a two-dimensional barcode.
Accordingly, there is a correspondence between an initial message and a corresponding two-dimensional barcode that embeds the initial message.
The properties of the two-dimensional barcode, such as its dimension, depend on the length of the initial message, i.e. the number of alphanumeric characters.
Today, two-dimensional barcode types, such as e.g. PDF417, DataMatrix, QR-Code, Aztec Code, MaxiCode, Codablock F etc., are widely used for various reasons.
Typically, an initial message can comprise at least part of a uniform resource identifier or a path. Scanning a two-dimensional barcode that embeds this initial message will hyperlink to a web page corresponding to that uniform resource identifier or path, depending on the scanning software parameters.
The initial message, and hence its corresponding two-dimensional barcode, can be generic or unique.
For instance, a generic initial message is useful for commercial purposes or for identifying a batch of products. But such a message is useless for identifying a given product, even within a batch.
For instance, a unique initial message can be used for identifying a unique product on which a corresponding unique two-dimensional barcode is affixed to or is embedded in. In that case typically, the initial message contains a unique identifier.